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Doctors could not work out why the medication was not keeping his blood thin until they discovered he had been eating too many sprouts.

The vegetable contains
high levels of vitamin K, a chemical the body uses to promote blood clotting.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Roy Gardner
said: 'Patients who are taking anticoagulants are generally advised not
to eat too many green leafy vegetables, as they are full of vitamin K,
which antagonise the action of this vital medication.'

A male patient was stabilised at the Golden Jubilee Hospital after overdosing on Brussel sprouts

Anticoagulants are blood thinners that also make existing blood clots more stable and less likely to break off and travel in the blood stream.

Warfarin is the most commonly prescribed anticoagulant and is prescribed after a patient has had a heart valve inserted or suffered a stroke.

It works by changing the way the liver uses vitamin K, which is an important vitamin in the blood-clotting process. The less vitamin K you have, the longer it takes for the blood to clot.

While Warfarin can generally balance out levels in the diet any sudden changes - such as gorging on Brussel sprouts - could put patients at risk.

Jill Young, chief executive of the
Golden Jubilee Hospital, said: 'Whilst we think this is possibly the
first-ever festive admission to hospital caused by the consumption of
Brussels sprouts, we were delighted that we were able to stabilise his
levels.'

The case was reported in a festive edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.